UW Graduates Advise Students at Local High Schools on Importance of Higher Education

October 25, 2012 — Recent University of Wyoming graduates are going into
schools and serving as full-time college advisers to convince local high school
students about the importance of higher education.

The unique program -- Wyoming College Advising Corps -- is
offered to increase access to higher education. It is based on a national
program, with the primary goal of raising the rates of college enrollment and
completion among low-income, first-generation-college (neither parent holds a
college degree) and underrepresented high school students.

College advisers have been assigned to local Wyoming schools
the past two years, increasing from six UW graduates last fall to 11 this
school year, says Becky Vinzant, who manages the College Access Challenge Grant
(CACG) program at UW. The CACG has 12 initiatives to increase higher education
awareness among the state’s high school students.

Many of the targeted teens in the local high schools are
well-qualified students who face different obstacles to pursuing higher
education, such as a lack of information about college admissions and financial
aid.

The UW graduates help to knock down those barriers, Vinzant
says.

Using the near-peer model, the UW graduates in each school
help local students and their families with the college application and
admission process, completion of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal
Student Aid) form, scholarship availability and the transfer process if they
are a community college student.

“The advisers offer their services to any student who wishes
to know more about the college application process, or needs help deciding on
schools and majors, ” Vinzant says. “As they prepare for the next chapter in
their lives, preparing for college with the application process can be a
daunting task, particularly to those students whose parents are unfamiliar with
the process. The corps helps ensure that all students are given the opportunity
to reach their full potential.”

The current CACG initiative -- of placing recent UW
graduates into high schools as college advisers -- is funded by a U.S.
Department of Education grant and extends the National College Advising Corps.

The UW student advisers also work to foster a college-going
culture within the schools they serve. Such a culture is one of the best
predictors of whether students will pursue higher education, Vinzant says.

The advisers work in their assigned high schools helping
students -- no matter their grade level -- in the college search and
application process.

“They also offer their assistance in any stage of the
college search process,” Vinzant says. “Each adviser also is assigned to one of
the local Wyoming community colleges to help students transition from a
two-year institution to a four-year college or university,” she adds.

Vinzant says the challenge for Wyoming is that 36 percent of
adults have college degrees but, by the year 2025, 62 percent of the state's
population will need degrees to meet workforce demand.

The number of Wyoming college graduates needs to increase
faster to keep the state competitive, according to a report, "A Stronger
Nation Through Higher Education," released by the private, independent
Lumina Foundation. The foundation advocates for increasing students' access to
higher education. The report projects that, by 2018, about 62 percent of jobs
in Wyoming will require at least an associate's degree.

For more information about the Wyoming CACG Program, contact
Vinzant at (307) 766-6440 or email rvinzant@uwyo.edu.

Respective high schools where UW student advisers serve,
their hometowns and majors are: